Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you
"I'm going to beat this" he said, "I refuse to let this thing be the end of me." After that day, it seemed as if every day we noticed something new, and each day as it grew worse, I felt as if all I could see was a man not just dying, but deteriorating before my very eyes.
I will never forget the last day of my sophomore year when Mr. Mahon told us all to have a great summer-that he would see us next year. I remember him smiling as he said it, I noticed the hope and warmth that hadn't yet faded from his eyes, and I knew that the strength I saw in him that day would be an image that would never leave my memory.
Mr. Mahon is not the only part of La Plata High School that is gone now, nor is he the only person who has left an unforgettable impact on the Class of 2012. We lost Katie Murray too.
Just to describe Katie's personality makes me smile-she was unlike anyone else I have ever known. Her being absolutely radiated with a glow of happiness that was infectious. Her warmth grew on you in a matter of seconds and as it spread it seemed to shed light on every life that she touched. Katie was, simply, the perfect embodiment of life. I will never forget her laugh, her kindness, or the happiness she spread during her time in this world.
I have learned that it is hard to explain the impact a person has had on your life-it is something that, in my experience, appears stronger when that person is no longer with you. Hardly a moment passes where the impacts that Mr. Mahon and Katie left on me do not affect the decisions and choices I make today.
The strength I witnessed in the final months of Mr. Mahon's life continues to provide me with similar courage in many aspects of my own life-he inspired me to become a stronger person than I ever thought I could be, especially during Katie's death, to accept any challenge or obstacle that comes my way, and to have the confidence that I can achieve anything.
From Katie, I have learned to appreciate life and our time on Earth, to cherish every moment and make every attempt to leave a positive impact on the lives of others. The purple bracelet I wear in her memory reminds me every day to celebrate life-to live, learn, and experience for those who no longer can. It is impossible to know how long we will have on this earth to affect the lives of others, and so we must take every opportunity and chance we have to do so.
These two unforgettable people, I truly believe, have left powerful impacts on me that have morphed me into a better and stronger person-a person I could have never been without having them in my life.
ANY COMMENTS/CRITIQUE WOULD BE APPRECIATED! :)
